


Precedence

by Asaped



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-06-23 13:38:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15607440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asaped/pseuds/Asaped
Summary: After a fanmeet where fans called Jeongyeon 'Hyung' and 'Oppa', she's finally had enough and breaks down in the dorms. You hear about it and come to console her and hopefully help her find happiness.





	Precedence

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this last year when there was an actual fan meeting where something like this happened, so this is just my take on it as well as the events that follow.

You knew something was wrong as soon as you got a phone call from an unknown number at one in the morning. Luckily, you weren’t too far gone into your sleep since you were up late watching YouTube videos and eating popcorn. That doesn’t mean you weren’t just a little bit ticked when your ringtone started playing. You pick up and groggily reply  
  
“Do you know how late it is?”  
  
“I’m sorry to bother this late at night, but this is about Jeongyeon…”  
  
You’re wide awake now.  
“Mina? Is that you? What’s going on?”  
  
There is no immediate response. Instead, you can hear some loud banging and a door slam.  
“We had a fan meet today and well… you know how Jeongyeon is about being called ‘Hyung’ and ‘Oppa’ right? Well, she mentioned in a VLive that she wasn’t going to be girl crush and some of the fans did not take it too kindly. One of them was there today. He kept telling her that she has to be a boyish type in order to balance out the group and that he sees her a guy more than a girl. That must’ve really hurt her because then she took off her flower crown and was on the verge of tears. Manager-nim had to pull her away for a while to console her. We were almost done with the event before she even came back.”  
You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. You knew that Jeongyeon disliked being solely known as the girl crush and that she would rather be more feminine. You knew from Sixteen that Jeongyeon didn’t want to cut her hair short, but the production team and producers thought it would be better for her image… or for their ratings.  
  
You quickly ask Mina, “What can I do?”  
  
“Come to the dorm. We can’t get her out of her room and we are worried. We have a huge schedule tomorrow and we can’t afford to cancel or cause an incident with them. I know that sounds selfish of me and of the group but we need to make sure she’s alright and can perform tomorrow”  
  
You are already leaving your building when you reply, "I'm on my way."

  


You’ve never seen Jeongyeon like this. Her perfect platinum hair was gone, left was a nest of tangled strands, unkempt due to her built-up, hidden stress. She wasn’t looking at you, but you could tell she wasn’t herself. Her once proud back seemed to have shrunk and made the oversized sweater on her seem bigger than before. You didn’t know what to do, but as you took a look around, you could see that nothing was going to get done if everyone just stood here. You began to speak,  
  
“Hey, Jeongy-“  
  
“Why?! What did I do wrong? Tell me! I want to know!”  
She whipped around, lashing out at you. While her voice may seethe resentment and disgust, her eyes showed something else: pain and longing for an answer. That’s all she wanted, but no one knew what the right one was.  
  
“Unnie, it’s not you. Please don’t be sad…”  
Chaeyoung was the first of the other girls to speak up, but that’s all she could say through the tears she and the other members were shedding. They haven’t seen their second oldest act like this. Jeongyeon was always one to make jokes and be the fun one amongst the Twice members. They knew that Jeongyeon could feel sad, but they’ve never seen her like this. They all felt regret, regret that they never knew that her pain was this bad. Sure, some members were better liked than others, but everyone knew that it still hurt when you could clearly tell that people cheered louder for your members than for you. While you may not be able to relate to what she is going through, you knew that this was important to her, possibly more important than her own life. As an idol, your goal is to connect and entertain your fans. As long as they are happy, you are happy as well, that’s the point. But sometimes that cookie cutter response isn’t enough. There comes a point where you want to feel something. Something more than just adoration or praise. And it’s not just Jeongyeon, a lot of idols in the current generation that feel the same way, boys and girls. The fans have given and sacrificed so much time and money to see their groups or their biases succeed, but that can only get them so far. There comes a point where it can start feeling empty or repetitive. Fans will love you all the same, but others may seem disinterested when you change a concept to something that doesn’t ‘fit’ you. What do they know about the real Jeongyeon? In fact, you think to yourself, what do you know about the real Jeongyeon?  
  
“Of course it’s me! I’m not good enough right?! That’s why I don’t get any lines even though I am a LEAD VOCALIST. Every song is the same, Jihyo and Nayeon get the most, followed by me. Sometimes I don’t even get that many. Mina and Tzuyu got more lines than me in ‘Knock Knock!’”  
She tried to make eye contact with the two girls, but all they did was look away. How could they look their Unnie in the eyes? She was right though, they did get more lines. They knew that it wasn’t their decision for line distributions, but they still felt guilty that they were part of the problem.  
It had been an issue before, as reporters and fans would ask Jeongyeon about why she didn’t get more lines in the title tracks, but all she would say is that there are more songs and more opportunities in the future. Truthfully, it must have hurt her every single time she was asked that because she didn’t have a good answer, hell, just any answer. She would be fine if they just told her that she wasn’t good enough, but there was no way for her to know.  
“Like come on! Do I need to be more cute? Is that it? Should I talk with aegyo all the time? Or maybe be clumsy all the time like Sana or…”  
You knew she was going too far. Any more of this and her relationships with her members may never be the same again. You begin to walk forward until-  
  
-slap-  
  
It didn’t even register for you what happened next. You were halfway to Jeongyeon when Jihyo rushed past you and delivered one of the loudest slaps you have ever heard in your life. Everyone was shocked, Jeongyeon especially, her eyes were still wide from the sudden impact. She didn’t even finish turning her head back to face us until her leader spoke.  
“What, do you think you’re the only one struggling? That you are the only one that feels the way you do? Well let me remind you that we all struggled to get to the place that we are now. Sana? She got so much hate during Sixteen because people didn’t think she was ready. Momo? She was eliminated; she thought that she lost her chance to become an idol! You did so well while you were in the minor team Jeongyeon! Your voice and your abilities were what allowed you to do so well! Don’t you dare forget that!”  
  
“Then why? Why do I feel like I’m not contributing anything to this group? And don’t just say it’s because I’m the ‘Girl Crush’. When Chae cut her hair, everyone was freaking out in excitement, calling her ‘oppa’ and stuff. She’s obviously better at this than I am, even though that’s my 'image'. I’m not even a tomboy! I’m not the strongest of the members, I’m not the smartest or the most beautiful. Why am I even a part of this group? Any one of you can do what I contribute to this dynamic. Twice would be better off without me!”  
With that final statement, the room fell silent. Everyone was shocked at the proclamation. Jeongyeon was seriously considering leaving Twice, leaving the industry. Once again, no one said a word. I mean, what can you even say? Instead of saying something that Jeongyeon would disregard, you decide to come up and grab her hand. She makes eye contact, confused at the gesture, but all you say is:  
  
“Come with me. Right now.”  
  
You know it sounded harsh, and that was the point, but it didn’t help when you turned back to see her shocked face. She was confused and scared, but as you quickly scanned around the room, no one was stopping you. The girls trusted that you would do something to fix the situation. You’ve been with Jeongyeon long enough for them to understand. You gave them all a slight nod as you left and headed to your car.  
  
“Where are you taking me? Hey, answer me!”  
She keeps trying to pull away, but you keep dragging her until you were able to put her into the passenger’s seat. You got in to start the car, but as you were pulling out from the driveway, you noticed that Jeongyeon was turned away from you. She obviously didn’t want to talk to you now, but that was alright, since you two were almost there anyway.  
The passing lights and empty streets made it easy for you to look back and reminisce on the events that occurred between the two of you. Like your first interaction and how you both were forced to share the same table at a restaurant, or the time where you both got lost looking for a store that sold seasonal cakes. In fact, it seems most of the memories you have with Jeongyeon revolved around food. You gave a little chuckle, ignored by the still silent woman next to you. You realize that you were pretty close to your destination, so you go to park the car and give a little nudge to see if your passenger is awake. She must have dozed off for a bit, as her response is a series of groans. She uses her sleeves to rub her eyes, adjusting them to the new environment. It doesn’t take long for her to recognize where they are. She quickly turns to you and asks, “Why are we here?”  
  
You look her straight in the eye and hold her hands. They were very cold, but that just made you grip them even tighter.  
“Here, come take a walk with me.”  
You pull her out of the car and begin to walk towards your destination. It wasn’t that long ago, maybe two weeks, that this area was filled with ONCEs swarming around ready to attend TWICE’S first ever concert, but to Jeongyeon, it must have been an eternity ago. She grips your hand tighter as you get closer she looks to you and makes eye contact, you squeeze back in reassurance. As the two of you reach the front doors, Jeongyeon initiates the conversation.  
  
“I don’t understand, what are we doing here?”  
  
You take a deep breath. This is it. You can feel your heart race as you begin your confession.  
“Jeongyeon, it’s been a few months since we first met and in that short amount of time, I realized something: I really like you. Whenever we are together, I can never stop smiling. You always find a way to brighten up the mood and you make so many people happy. What happened today with that fan… that was really uncalled for. He shouldn’t have said those things and I really don’t think he should be considered a true ONCE with that kind of behavior. I know his words must have stung and they won’t just disappear from your mind, but I want to do as much as I can to help you overcome this. You shouldn’t quit being in TWICE, you know why? Because you helped inspire so many people. You are part of this amazing group of girls that have broken records and captivated the whole country with your style and music. No other group can come out and say that they were able to hold a tour so close after debuting. You are so amazing Jeongyeon, you really are. I see it in you so much. You were my bias from the beginning and you will always hold that spot in my heart.”  
You pause to take a breath and notice that Jeongyeon is just staring at you blankly. You pay it no mind and continue.  
“Anyway, what I am trying to say is that I would really like to go out with you. I realized that I still don’t know enough about the real Jeongyeon: the Jeongyeon that does feel sad and has worries. When you were letting it all out at the dorm, I realized that I didn’t know enough about you. I only knew about the ‘idol’ Jeongyeon, not the ‘real’ Jeongyeon. I would love to know that Jeongyeon as well, as she is just as much a part of you as you are a part TWICE. No one can replace who you are.”  
You take another deep breath as you finish. You're nervous to even make eye contact with the woman in front of you, so you keep looking anywhere but in front of you.  
  
“I’m sorry.”  
  
You freeze and slowly begin to look down towards the source of the apology. Your mind is racing with thoughts of why she was saying sorry. Was she about to reject you? You could feel your heart trying to burst out of your chest. You feel like fainting until you see her there, tears streaming down her face.  
“I… I know that I said some stupid things earlier. I didn’t mean it I swear! There was just so much happening at once and all of these emotions building up inside of me. I couldn’t take it anymore. I was so scared, you know? I know it isn’t the girls’ fault that I’m like this, I just thought I was stronger and was able to take all the crap. But I wasn’t. In fact, I’m probably the weakest when it comes to hate compared to the rest of the group. I can just cover it up easily with my personality and my humor. No one can really tell the difference right?”  
She chuckles a little before continuing.  
“To be honest, I was fine with the whole ‘Girl Crush’ thing at the beginning. I knew that we needed someone to fill in that role in order for us to get more fans, but as time went on, I realized that this wasn’t how I wanted to be portrayed to the public. When fans started calling me ‘hyung’ or ‘oppa’, I disregarded it since that’s what they usually call people of that role, but I didn’t like it. It made me feel uncomfortable; like I could never be pretty, I could only be handsome. I wanted to be this cute girl but the company thought otherwise and told me to just do my best to ignore it. Don’t get me wrong, I love JYPE, but some of decisions that they make… I just don’t understand them. I don’t know if you could tell, but I’ve been growing my hair out now! It’s really nice. Took me ages to convince management to even let me do this. I do like my hair longer than what I had before, it makes me more feminine. I know some people will be upset, but I really hope that they can change their mind and accept this new me.”  
Jeongyeon stops for a bit to wipe off the tears that are trickling down her face and she looks up to you with sad eyes. It hurt you to see her like this and you feel powerless. You take your hand and press it softly against her cheek, your thumb rubbing off a stray tear that she missed.  
  
With a gentle smile, you respond, “I’ll always accept you Jeongyeon. You always look beautiful in my eyes. You could change your hair style again and again and I will always tell you how pretty and stunning you are. You have changed my life and I wouldn’t trade it for anyth- well there is one thing I would change.”  
  
She looks at you with a quizzical look.  
“What’s that?”  
  
You move in and wrap your arms around the girl of your dreams. You can hear a gasp of surprise, but then you could feel her small frame relax and ease into your hug.  
“I only wish I could have met you sooner.”  
  
You both laugh a little and Jeongyeon brings her hands up to reciprocate the affection.  
“Thank you for everything.”


End file.
